Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Music & Snowboarding

I titled this post music and snowboarding because the two activities are intertwined in my life, like the twin serpents on a Caduceus. First, snowboarding in the Czech Republic. The trip was dope... minus all the distractions off the mountain. When I arrived it was too late to take public transport so I used the hotel's shuttle service. This is the first and last time I use that service due to incompetence. The driver strapped his and my snowboard to the roof of the car with thick elastic bands. The coils seemed sturdy, and the driver seemed to have complete confidence they would hold the equipment safely during our journey.

Two hours into our three hour drive from Prague airport to the snowcapped mountains of Spindleruv Mlyn,the driver pulls off the highway for cigarettes and discovers both our snowboards missing. Needless to say..."I was not happy." Upon further inspection we found that the elastic coils snapped and the boards fell off.

We drove back over an hour and made several detours along the way before finally finding both snowboards separated by a few hundred meters on the side of the road. It was a bad way to start the trip, but I was happy to have my board back.

When I was on the mountains it was superb! Fresh powder, long wide, lines and endless points to off-road free-ride. This year I got to try night riding! This is when they open the brightly lit mountain of Hromovka at night, so riders can snowboard or ski in the dark from 6-9pm. Yo! It was off the hook...like a telephone receiver.

The night sky was so clear, the stars looked like tiny Swarovski crystals, glittering on an obsidian canvas... that stretched to infinity. Everyone on the mountain was a serious rider who could carve the powder like a sculpture. There were no more than twenty of us, but once I hit the slopes it was like I was alone on the mountain. Smelling the fresh pine scented air, while carving the snow in intricate "S" shapes... riding the contours of the mountain like a surfer does a wave. I did more riding than filming, but the video below is footage of me riding down a mountain trail.

Aside from winter sports the small village of Spindleruv Mlyn has activities (bowling, snow biking, casinos, aqua-park) to keep tourists entertained off the mountain. I saw a few people bowling, but most of the people who weren't on the mountain were drinking. They have more varieties of liquor than flavors of potato chips.

I came back with some souvenirs ofAbsintheand a Pear liquor that's similar to vodka. The Absinthe, looked like this Chartreuse liqueur I used to drink with a friend when I lived in California. They taste nothing alike. Chartreuse has a sweet, almost liquorish flavor, and the Absinthe tasted like toothpaste flavored formaldehyde. The only upside is that it's so strong, one shot and you got a buzz. I haven't opened the Pear liquor yet...cuz I'm saving it for a celebration occasion.

In conjunction with the album release, Vinumous Recordswill be doing a promotional contest where fans win free merch. I'll post more information on the contest in the next post. For now, check out the rest of the pics from the trip below. Also go check out the album and if you like the music...share it with a friend.